Anti-pneumococcal antibody-producing lymphocytes from a patient who was immunized with Pneumovax (a polysaccharide mixture from 14 different pneumococci types) were selected and immortalized with Epstein Barr virus (EBV). The cells of the emerging cloned line were shown on a single cell level assay to secrete an IgM, kappa anti-pneumococci antibody. This human monoclonal antibody bound specifically to polysaccharides of pneumococci type 8, but did not bind to any of the other 13 pneumococci types that were present in the Pneumovax mixture. In competition experiments, inhibition of binding occurred with polysaccharide type 8 and Pneumovax only. This diploid cell line has actively secreted the specific antibody (2.8 micrograms/10(6) cells/ml) now for more than 9 mo. In patients, increased anti-pneumococcal antibody titers generated by active immunization with Pneumovax improves resistance to the corresponding bacterial infection. Production in vitro of human monoclonal antibodies directed toward bacterial and viral antigens enables a new possible approach for passive immune protection.